What a week.  Tuesday we shipped 800 hats for kids, 138 baby items, and 100 miscellaneous items for kids.  UPS picked them up so quickly yesterday that I already received a thank you from CPAF, one of our shelters: 

Hi Leslye! 

We received your box of hats today and your letter.  Thank you so much, they look great! I will let our shelter staff know and we will distribute them for the holidays. 

Thank you for spreading the warmth and joy this holiday season. J 

Thanks again! 

Anna Lee | Development Coordinator

Today we wrapped all the scarves we had on hand. A veritable mountain of scarves. My dining room echoes, it is so empty. We’re all set for Nov. 17, our big shipping date. Maybe we can start packing the boxes now.

This shipping is the culmination of all we have been doing all year. I can’t thank you all enough. You make it possible.

As I’ve told you, I have contacted more shelters to which we can donate our scarves (because we have so many scarves). These new-to-us-shelters serve a lot of women, and they have a lot of kids. So we still have a big demand for hats. Still, I am not making an all-out SOS plea for hats. I feel we just can’t stop making them. Like our scarves, the hats mean more than we realize for those who seek the protection of a shelter.

Coats & Clark just donated great hat making yarn to Handmade and June Grossberg, owner of Concepts in Yarn, our sponsor, has ordered more size 11 and 13 circular needles. If you want to make hats for the kids and teens at the shelters, we can help you get started. Don’t worry about having them ready for Nov. 17 shipping. If we have the hats ready in January or February, it’s still plenty cold and we will ship them then. Your contribution means a lot.

Remember, the women and children who flee to the shelters are desperate. They do not pack a suitcase with their belongings. They arrive with nothing but the clothes on their backs. The items we knit for them give them comfort. They warm their hearts. They lift their spirits.

Keep knitting. Thank you so much.  Your generosity inspires me.

Love,

Leslye